No Limit Hold'em
by NewUserNamesAreHard
Summary: With a patented poker face, it made sense that Kaitou KID would make it to the final table of the charity poker tournament. But he really hadn't expected to see Kudo Shinichi there. It was truly unfortunate for the third man at the table. (Entry for Poirot Cafe Themed Writing Contest #35. Prompt: Games)


**Title: No Limit Hold'em**

 **Summary:** With a patented poker face, it made sense that Kaitou KID would make it to the final table of the charity poker tournament. But he really hadn't expected to see Kudo Shinichi there. It was truly unfortunate for the third man at the table.

 **Words:** approx. 2340

 **A/N:** This story makes heavy use of poker terminology. Without some familiarity with the game, this story may not make much sense.

-xoXox-

Part of Kaito wondered how he had ended up seated across the table from one Kudo Shinichi, 'Detective of the East'. But a larger part of him was just impressed with his rival's poker skills. After all, there were only three of them left in the Kanagawa Children's Hospital's charity poker tournament: Kaito, Kudo, and the Kaitou KID imposter seated between them.

The fake was actually doing pretty well for himself. Though, if the slight twitch of Kudo's eye was any indication, the detective was getting awfully tired of the fake's painfully obvious cheating. Ok. Maybe it wasn't painfully obvious to anyone who wasn't keeping track of the location of almost every card in the deck, but both Kaito and the detective were. It didn't matter that the dealer was rotating out decks every third hand. Nor did it make a difference that they were using an automatic card shuffler. Once you knew how the shuffler worked, it was only a matter of complex math and keen observation to predict the new order of the cards in the deck. If a card had landed face up on the table once, the thief and his critic knew where it was in the stack of cards.

They were 16 hands in and the fake had yet to catch on to the fact that he wasn't going to be able to lure in either Kaito or Kudo. That was when Kaito saw it, the slightest twitch at the corner of Kudo's lips. Blue eyes sparkled as they met indigo and Kaito had to wonder what on earth had gotten the detective so excited. It was curious. And slightly terrifying. The last time Kaito had seen Kudo smile like that, the detective had cornered him and forced Kaito to abandon his heist target.

Interestingly enough though, the police seemed to think that Kaito had actually successfully stolen the Sunken Sun ruby. It had after all, been returned in typical Kaitou KID fashion 3 days after the heist.

Sometimes Kaito just didn't understand the detective.

"Is everyone ready for the next hand?" The dealer asked as a TV camera focused on him. Sakura TV had made a very large 'donation' to the hospital, affording them the rights to televise the event. Of course, that was only after hearing that Kaitou KID would actually be playing in the tournament.

"Of course!" The fake answered with a grin. And even Kaito had to admit the man was at least attempting to maintain Kaitou KID's character.

Kudo's response was far more mundane. "Yes."

And Kaito himself smirked and tipped his white top hat towards the dealer. "It wouldn't do to keep the audience waiting."

The dealer nodded and the fake pushed a stack of chips worth ¥1,400,000 into the center of the table. Kaito followed suit, adding his stack of ¥1,700,000 to the pot.

The blinds had been growing steadily larger, pushing the players to bet with worse and worse hands. At least that seemed to be the idea. Kaito kind of doubted anyone could push either him or Kudo to act rashly though.

The detective had almost doubled his chips since sitting down at the final table, sitting pretty with a stack of chips worth ¥49,700,000. It was quite the feat considering Kudo's very conservative play style. Kaito's own chip collection was only ¥41,200,000 but it still surpassed the ¥34,100,000 the fake had accumulated. The other two other players that had been seated at the table had gone bust some number of hands ago.

Once the blinds had been paid, the cards were dealt. Then the ritual began.

The fake tapped his fingers three times before lifting the bottom edges of his cards and peaking at them for 13 seconds.

Kudo picked up his cards as if he didn't care who saw them, probably because he didn't. Then he peered over the tops of the cards with those intense blue eyes of his.

Kaito just tilted his head to the side and snapped his fingers, materializing a rose to twirl. He knew what his cards would be without even looking at them. The two of spades and the seven of hearts. It was literally the worst hand in the game. The probability of winning the round with those cards was so low it was practically unheard of. And Kudo's hand should be…

Why the hell was Kudo smiling? The fake had pocket aces. He had both of them beat. Unless… Kaito's smile widened just a fraction. Kudo was evil.

"Kudo-san?" The dealer prompted as the detective studied Kaito and the fake.

"Call." Kudo announced and slid ¥1,700,000 in chips into the center of the table. His eyes were glued to Kaito as if he could actually see something on the phantom thief's poker face.

The fake glanced at Kaito. "He seems to think you're hiding something. Did you get a good hand Kaitou?"

"Who knows?" Kaito answered as he looked back at the fake. "Why not ask Meitantei to share his reasoning?"

"I doubt he'd tell me even if I asked." The fake answered as he fingered his chips. "I'll call. And I'll raise ¥10,000,000."

"So you have a good hand then?" Kaito questioned as he looked at the fake with his signature grin firmly in place. "Either that or you haven't noticed the look in the detective's eyes. That's the look he has whenever he's solved a puzzle. Better be careful 1412."

Kudo frowned. The detective didn't seem to like being analyzed despite his constant scrutiny of everyone else. "And you're suddenly the expert on my facial expressions?"

"Of course, Meitantei~. How many times have I worn your face to a heist?" Kaito questioned before he pushed ¥10,000,000 in chips into the growing pile in the center of the table. "I'll call."

"Do I even want to know the answer to that KID?" Kudo's eyes flickered from the pot back to his cards and then to the pile of chips beside him. He straightened his stack of chips before picking up a few of the blue disks and setting them neatly beside the other players'. "Call. Let's see the flop."

"The first round of betting is closed." The dealer announced. He took the first card off the top of the deck and placed it off to his right before flipping over the next three cards and laying them side by side before the players. "King of diamonds, two of hearts, two of clubs. Place your bets gentlemen."

Kudo looked at the three cards in the middle of the table as if he suspected them of something. Possibly murder, given the detective's uncanny ability to stumble over dead bodies. "Check."

The fake let out a snort. Which was _so_ not a sound Kaito wanted anyone to associate with Kaitou KID. Ever.

Kaito hadn't even planned to enter the poker tournament. But when heard that his night time persona was going to play in a charity poker tournament… Well, he just couldn't let someone else pretend to be him. So Kaito had entered the tournament with every intention of crushing the fake and protecting the reputation of Kaitou KID. He hadn't expected the fake to actually be a decent poker player. But he really hadn't expected to come face to face with his favorite critic. A high stakes poker game with Kudo was almost as exciting as a heist. Almost. Poker was hardly the game of luck people liked to make it out to be.

"Raise ¥10,000,000." The fake declared with the confidence of someone who knew the two aces in his hand beat any pair that could be formed with the cards on the table.

"Call." Kaito answered a heartbeat later. Kudo had the fake on his hook. It was just a matter of reeling him in. Kaito had already won with 3 of a kind twos. As long as another ace didn't drop the fake couldn't win.

The detective bit his lower lip. "Do you see something I don't KID? You didn't even think about calling." Kudo's eyes swept over the fake, missing nothing as he looked the man over.

"Getting cold feet, Meitantei? You're already ¥11,700,000 in. What's another ¥10,000,000?" Kaito teased.

The glare that Kudo shot back could make hardened criminals weep. Kaito had even seen it a few times. "Call."

"That concludes the second round of betting." The dealer stated more for the TV camera than anyone at the table. He discarded the top card from the deck and flipped the next card over, placing it next to the first three cards from the flop. "Seven of spades on the turn."

Kudo ran a hand through his hair as a scowl settled on his face. He did not look happy. "Check."

The fake's grin grew as he watched Kudo. "Raise ¥5,000,000."

On the inside Kaito was grinning like the Cheshire cat. Conveniently, it matched the expression he had been wearing all night too. He had already won the hand. He had a full house now and all the fake had was two pair. Well unless another ace dropped on the river. "Call." He said cheerfully after disappearing ¥5,000,000 in chips into the palm of his hand. With a small puff of smoke the chips reappeared in the middle of the table.

The detective looked at Kaito with an unfriendly expression. Kudo was a conservative player. And conservative players didn't bet more than half their money in a single hand.

"You pushed too hard." The fake taunted. "You can't back out now."

"He's right Meitantei. So are you going to test your luck on the river? Or are you going to take the loss?" Kaito questioned.

Kudo looked like he might be in physical pain when he dropped his head into his hand. "Call." He groaned from under the fringe of his hair. He tossed a few more chips towards the center of the table as he sat up straight again.

"That concludes the third round of betting."

All eyes followed the dealers hand as he peeled the first card off the top of the deck. He set it aside before flipping over the next card on the pile and placing it besides its breathen in the middle of the table. "Ten of diamonds on the river. This will be the final round of betting gentlemen."

The fake practically glowed with excitement. There was no chance of either a straight or a flush on the board. Besides, what idiot actually paid to play in a hand if they were holding a two?

"Kudo-san?" The dealer prompted the depressed looking detective.

"Check."

"The cards just didn't fall in your favor this time, huh?" The fake questioned as he smirked. His hand played idly with the rest of his chips.

The only answer he got was a death glare. It didn't last long though, as Kudo turned his attention to Kaito. "Do something about your impersonator KID."

"I'd like to Meitantei. But you don't really want me to cheat do you?"

"I'm hurt that you would call me an impersonator, Kudo-san." The fake spouted at the same time. "All those moonlit nights meant nothing to you?"

Kudo looked unimpressed. "You do know who I am don't you 1412? I'd know the real Kaitou KID anywhere. And he happens to be sitting right there." Kudo's finger was pointed at Kaito's chest.

"You can't fool Meitantei." Kaito informed the fake. "It's one of his most annoying qualities."

"We'll see about that at the end of this hand won't we?" The fake retorted stubbornly. "All in." He announced, shoving the rest of his chips into the pot with a triumphant grin.

"Call." Kaito and Kudo said in quick succession, each adding ¥7,700,000 worth of chips to the center of the table.

The fake looked confused. "You really shouldn't have cheated in front of the detective." Kaito told him with a wag of his finger.

"You should also be well aware that identity theft is a crime. Even if the identity is Kaitou KID's." The detective added.

The dealer glanced between Kaito and Kudo. "All bets are in?"

"All bets are in." They confirmed with unnerving synchronization.

"Flip your cards gentlemen." The dealer instructed as the TV camera panned out to capture the entire table.

"Two pair. Ace high." The fake declared proudly as he flipped his cards over. "It's unfortunate gentlemen. It's going to be very hard for you to come back from this."

"Actually. It's going to be impossible for you to come back from this hand." Kudo corrected as he turned his cards over. The two of diamonds and the seven of clubs fell to the table. "Full house."

"I hate to agree with a detective. But he's right." Kaito chimed in as his cards seemed to jump into the air on their own. The fake paled an extra shade or three as the two of spades and the seven of hearts landed face up on the table. "Full house."

The fake's jaw dropped as he looked from side to side, confirming the cards that had been laid on the table. "No one plays two and seven unsuited."

"Well…" Kaito mused. "Lady Luck has blessed me plenty of times before. Though, if you asked Meitantei, he'd probably tell you something about deducing the cards in each of our hands."

Kudo leaned back in his chair. "Please don't make my deductions sound like your magic tricks KID."

"You both cheated!" The fake accused as a member of the security staff approached him.

"No. We didn't. But you certainly did. Four times at this table alone." Kudo corrected before turning his attention back to Kaito. "You didn't know what the river card would be either did you?"

Kaito smiled at the detective, giving away nothing. "That's for me to know and you to figure out, Meitantei~."

-xoXox-


End file.
